Atlantean Angel
by jazzybca
Summary: (rating may change)The lovers are plunged into despair by something that she has not had in six years and by a prophecy that has finally come to pass
1. Now You Know

Atlantean Angel  
  
Chapter 1: Now You Know  
  
'Wow... It's been six years since I left. Why did I leave? It seems so hard to remember why now. Oh right, my family and friends, and my life, were here. Or what I thought was my life. I realize now that what I went through became part of my life. Sure we were only fifteen and that too made me think what I was... no, what we were feeling, could not have been true. Oh, but it was so true... He was so far away and yet was always right here with me. Our souls connected and let us, in some sense, communicate with each other. It was mostly feelings and emotions but if we both focused on it, some times we could talk in our minds.  
  
Six years...a lot has happened looking back on it. I decided it was time to grow up. No more tarot reading, I promised myself I wouldn't (and with that there were no more visions, thankfully). I continued on in track and even won at nationals three times in a row before I reached my peak and decided to stop. Then there's school, it used to be such a problem for me, an annoyance, but that too changed. Something about me, mentally, was different (but good different) when I came back; the knowledge and the grades came without effort. So much so I graduated in two years, a year early for my age, and that doesn't happen too often in the high school I came from. It kind of scares me how much I've learned and absorbed in six years, it almost doesn't seem normal.  
  
Anyway, I went on to university to study, of all things, ancient and medieval civilizations, and myths and legends of the world. It's funny how many of Earth's myths I've actually seen on my travels. My parents were so proud when I graduated at the top of my class. They're still beaming three months later, so are Yukari and Amano.  
  
Heh, I used to have the biggest crush on Amano. It still makes me laugh how bad I had it for him. It wasn't until right before I left the second time that I finally clued in on Yukari's feelings. I was so blind. I just had a girlish crush but she had genuine feeling for him. When I left, Amano decided to stay in Japan until I came back. I found out then that Yukari had revealed her feelings and Amano felt the same way. He had consented to kiss me, and I'm glad it didn't happen, just because I had asked him as a favour. Even though, he eventually did left for England with his family, Yukari and him hit it off really well for a long distance relationship. At least I was here on Yukari's end to help her through the rough patches. I know exactly how she felt. They have been going strong for nearly six years as well.   
  
Anyway, even though I had already done so much with my life, there is one thing I am really pleased with myself for. Along with school, and track I took up a 'masters' martial arts class. We did everything you could think of. It was like a combination of the major styles. The traditional body and mind forms of the art but we also extended into weapons training. My sensei still can't believe the progress of someone who'd never even thought of this sort of thing before; who couldn't even fathom the idea of killing; someone who was always first to believe there was good in everyone. Nevertheless, as far as self-defence can go, I realized that when it came to combat on my journey, I was never able to fight my own battles. Now I can beat 4 of the 5 Grand Masters in the country. As I began to train, I told him when we were able to talk and he was sceptical at first but as I progressed, his emotions were proud and supportive.   
  
I miss him so much more now. Two months is an eternity. I don't think I understood how much I had until it was gone, and I can't even figure out why... ... why? ... "  
  
With the last dot, Hitomi had to choke back another flow of tears from her eyes. She looked over her latest entry into her journal. It seemed as the anniversary of the day she met the dragon drew closer, all she could do was write her thoughts down. People could tell something was going on but right now, she could not seem to get more than two words out about what she went through. There were so many times it nearly came out but as soon as she began to think about her ordeal, she would fling herself it to a tizzy and end up in heart wrenching tears. The thoughts had become painful to her and the pain was slowly consuming her.   
  
Hitomi knelt down to the hard wood floor under her room's windowsill and pried the loose floorboard up and on to her lap. She careful took out the fireproof lock box that lay in the bottom of the secret compartment, and placed it beside her, as she eased the board back in to the floor.  
  
She pulled the box back to her, while she relaxed against the wall. Hitomi took the silver key off the chain around her neck and slowly unlocked the container. Carefully opening the lid, Hitomi let out a muffled sob, for on top of the pile of journal papers, texts on Atlantis, her tarot cards and rough drawings, lay the single shock white feather that he had given her before she left.  
  
Hitomi let her fingers glide over top of its smooth texture, and felt a shiver go across her shoulder blades. She suddenly had a mysterious feeling in the pit of her stomach. It felt as if that shiver was a sign. Of what she had no idea, so instead of dwelling on the feeling, Hitomi cautiously lifted the feather up and brushed it against her cheek. A new bout of tears began as soon as the almost silken item connected with her skin.   
  
She attempted to regain herself while as picked up the 6 years worth of journals and records she kept. With the feather in hand, Hitomi re-read every word that she had written in the past, and could almost feel her soul being shrouded in pain and depression.   
  
Hitomi did not count the minutes and hours that pasted as she reminisced about that secret world and the people she knew. When she finally came to the end, Hitomi simply placed her latest entry on the pile; laid the precious gift on top, locked the lid and replaced the box into its compartment in the floor.  
  
She then picked herself off the floor and made her way to her bed across from the window. Gingerly stretching out on the sheets, Hitomi had finally come to a decision. "Tomorrow, I'll tell her...If I don't get this out to someone, I fear my spirit will finally die," the last word echoed in the room and hung heavily in the air as uneasy sleep begun to claim the frail, young woman.   
  
Hanging between the waking world and the one of dreams, Hitomi felt compelled to say one last thing, in the vain hope of a reply from another world, "Van."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Come on, Hitomi! Tell me what's wrong," the insistent, auburn-haired Yukari begged. She was attempting to get Hitomi to open up to her," Hitomi, you called me this morning and said that you need to tell me something. Something that you've kept secret from me for a long time. As far as I can remember, you've never kept anything from me before, why now? This secret, whatever it is, is hurting you! I see it everyday. Please would you just tell me? "  
  
  
  
Hitomi sat on the edge of a stonewall facing the track that started her journey into love, life and loss. She didn't really want to talk or think about it but it was all she could do. The names and faces kept floating through her mind; Allen, Millerna, Merle, Van . . . So many memories, it seemed so hard to go on. Yukari would understand if she told her but it was Hitomi who was pulling back. Two months ago she would have been all ready to tell Yukari about Gaea and Van's feelings encouraged her to but then suddenly their connection was broken, in mid-thought.   
  
She thought back to that crushing conversation. She had just asked for advice, whether she should tell someone or not. Bring a person into the Gaean knowledge or just keep it to herself. His voice, slightly deeper and more mature from the years, came comfortingly into her mind, "No one can force you Hitomi; it is completely up to you. But you know, getting it in the open would probably lift some weight off you shoulders. It did for me when I opened to you about Folken. It is up to you, but you know I'm always here with y......"  
  
Then there were silence and a gaping hole in her heart. She couldn't concentrate without him. She couldn't think. Instead, she pulled back into her own little world. So, for the past two months Hitomi had been alone in her thoughts, lost, and depressed. Her health was a losing battle as well. She would cry herself to sleep longing to hear Van's thoughts. Her mind and her body were suffering because she couldn't feel any trace of him. This loneliness was wearing her thin. She was plagued with headaches, weakness, and insomnia. Hitomi sat with her arms wrapped tightly around her chest, trying to prepare herself for what she was going to do.   
  
"Hitomi please. Talk to me. I want to know what is happening to you. I want to listen," pleaded Yukairi, as she took Hitomi wrist in her hand and shook it.  
  
" Yukari," Hitomi began feeling a single tear roll gently down her cheek," do you really want to know? I've wanted to tell you so many times. I . . . I was just so afraid!" she choked out, beginning to cry.  
  
Yukari moved swiftly, siting next to her sobbing friend, and held her tightly "Afraid of what? You're like a sister to me; we've been through nearly everything together. You can always tell me anything. You know that. I really want to know."  
  
  
  
Hitomi raised her head, and pulled Yukari's eyes into her own emerald depths." Fine, I will tell you, but I am placing my complete faith in you that you will never tell anyone about this. Some things may seem impossible, but I would never, ever lie about this. It means too much to me. Promise me not a word to anyone..." Hitomi started, watching Yukari nod and swear on her life, in anticipation of Hitomi's secret. Tears began to fall more steadily,   
  
"Well," she sniffed," you remember the day it happened. It would be six and a half years in five days; it was the day the dragon and Van appeared . . . "  
  
  
  
Hitomi went on telling Yukari almost everything. Allen's misplaced love for her was her own, and no one would ever know.  
  
  
  
As Hitomi finished, Yukari sat staring at her in disbelief. " My last gift to Van was my pendant and my heart. His promise to me and one of his white feathers was his."  
  
Her tears had long since dried up and Hitomi felt relieved to let out all that bottle emotion after so long.  
  
" So you think you're directly attached to Gaea through that pendant..."  
  
"Yes, but I think it was more a combination of the feelings between Van and myself, along with the pendant. My grandmother had passed down that pendant to me. No one knew how she first got it. (Hitomi knew, she had seen it in a vision on Gaea, but that hadn't entered her mind) For some reason my grandmother didn't give it to my mother but me instead. I know it was kind of an heirloom and I shouldn't have given it away but I don't regret it for a moment."  
  
"... And you haven't spoke to or felt Van in two months?"  
  
"No, I haven't. Van did not seem like he was going to leave. He just did. Yukari, I'm afraid that something happened to him or he may have given his heart to someone else," Hitomi cried out, beginning to cry again at the thought of losing Van forever.  
  
" Hitomi don't be stupid. I have never met him and I can tell that he loves you and only you. Now... Hitomi, I am going to ask you a question and I want you to completely truthful - if you don't see Van again are you going to get worse? I mean, will you ever be happy without him?" Yukari asked in all seriousness, staring into the eyes that once held so much hope.  
  
" Truth? No, I won't. I can't ever be happy without him. I know now that it's just not possible for me Yukari. My heart is his, even if I never actually told him and if I don't find out how he feels, I'll just fade away. What's worse is that during all the time I did have with him, I was too chicken to tell him how I felt and now I don't think I will ever get the chance. That's the problem, I gave him my pendant, and now I don't know how to go back...and even if I did know, how I could make that decision? My life is here, my family and my friends. This is why I left in the first place."   
  
Yukari looked deeply into Hitomi's eyes. Pulling at her memories, Yukari noticed that even though her hair was longer and her body had filled out, Hitomi hadn't really changed after all these years. She still had those bright green eyes that could hold so much hope, the perfect athlete's body, but she did noticed for the first time how pale Hitomi really was today. It had been one of the nicest, summer days for Japan in the last three years and yet Hitomi came out in her sweatshirt and blue jeans, complaining she was cold.  
  
"Hitomi, you don't look so good. Are you feeling alright?"  
  
" Now that you mention it, I don't feel that good. My . . . my head kind of hurts," Hitomi answered," it hurts a lot actually. Almost the same pain as the ones I used to get right before a really intense vision. But I haven't had one of those since I left Gaea . . . " Hitomi cried out in pain as she slowly slip into a vision. She could feel herself falling off the wall toward the pavement behind her, before being consumed by darkness.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Where I am? Hitomi felt light as if she wasn't really touching the ground. She opened her eyes and found herself being drawn to the edge of a cliff. Looking around from side to side, Hitomi could see that the cliff was surrounded with a thick forest of trees. She looked up toward the sky and saw the moon and . . . something else. Earth! When the initial shock of seeing it once again had subsided, Hitomi knew that she was on Gaea.   
  
Hitomi... "Hello? Is someone there?" is destiny.... "What? What are you saying? Hello?" Hitomi called out to the sky.  
  
Turning back around to face the forest she saw people at the edge of the tree line. One of them had huge ebony black wings spread out behind his muscular body. His head topped with a bush of teal blue hair was bent down and he was crouched over something . . . no someone. As she stared at the man, she realized that he looked an awfully lot like Folken, Van's older brother. But he had died; she was there with him when it had happened. Not only was he dead, but Folken had a mechanical arm, this man didn't. 'NO there isn't any way it could be Folken . . . could it?'  
  
  
  
Must save him... "What, save Folken? He's already dead," she called out to the voice with no reply. Hitomi knew this wasn't a normal vision, but that it must play out and turned back to the group.  
  
Her gaze then moved toward a tall, kneeling figure with short shoulder length blonde hair in a ponytail. Looking at his face, Hitomi instantly recognized Allen Schezar there with the Folken look alike. 'What happened to his hair?" Hitomi thought to herself.  
  
Save him...Getting very annoyed, Hitomi called out, "SAVE WHO? What are you talking about?"  
  
The last person she saw she knew who it was right away. She could not mistake those big roaming eyes (however at the moment they were tearful and red), the pinky-red hair, and the huge furry ears. Hitomi knew that that was Merle and no other. Seeing her made Hitomi's heart beat faster, because Merle never strayed far away from Van.   
  
As Hitomi peered around the group looking for him, she acknowledged how much they had changed and grew older since she left. Allen looked still as chiselled and handsome has he had when she had left. Although now, it seems his age was finally showing through his eyes. Folken, however looked the same as the day he had died with Hitomi standing there, watching it happen. Hitomi shivered as the memory of his body fell to the cold marble floor. In Hitomi's opinion, the person she felt had changed the most was Merle. Looking more closely, Hitomi saw just how much she had changed. The puffs of fur that had been on her ankles, wrists and shoulders had smoothed out and almost melded with the rest of her sleek coat. The colour of Merle's fur had lost none of it radiance and was accentuated by the now mid-back length pink hair that hung over her shoulders. Hitomi's gaze moved up to Merle's face but instead of her normally cheerful expression, she was met with a look of deep agony.  
  
Examining her companions' faces, a shiver crept up Hitomi's back. The look that they wore gave her the creeps. They all looked extremely distraught, as if something had happened that they would never get over. 'What could make them act that way?'  
  
It was then that... she saw him. Van.   
  
He was lying flat with his stomach on the ground and his brilliant white wings exposed behind him. There was something wrong though. Some sort of red liquid covered them and his eyes were wide open. Hitomi cried out to them, " Why isn't he moving?"   
  
As she stumbled forward for a better look, she knew why. Hitomi collapsed to her knees in anguish. He was dead. Two fatal gashes graced his body. One in the lower part of his back, and the other across his neck. His blood, his life had seeped out of them. The sight pulled Hitomi to into a shock of sobs. Looking at his body enraged and tormented her.   
  
Suddenly the air around them turned a bright pink colour. The voice had resumed its overlapping whispers Save him... destiny... must save...only you...  
  
A small pendant rose up off Van's neck and floated over to Hitomi. As all four pairs of eyes followed it, the pendant landed in palm of Hitomi's left hand. Staring at it, it became blinding. A bright flash from it made them all turn away. As Hitomi looked back at the stone in her hand, she gasped in surprise. There were three pendants, not one. They were all different colours. There were black, white, and one that was almost like an iridescent glass that gave off all the colours imaginable. Each of them had their own separate chain attached to it.   
  
Continuing to sob, Hitomi sat stiffly on her knees as a horrible pain sharply stung at her back. It felt as if something were tearing out through her skin. Looking toward her companions for help, all she could see were fingers pointed at her in accusation. " Me . . . what did I do? Help me" Hitomi pleaded.   
  
"You are the only one who can help him," Merle yelled out at her. Picking up Van's sword from his side. "You know how to use it. It's in you. They are in you. Concentrate! You must use them. Save Lord Van, Hitomi. Save him. Now!".   
  
Hitomi wanted to pick up the sword but was afraid of what might happen. All she could do was stare at it. She gasped as the sword rose up off Merle's hand and removed itself from its scabbard. Floating directly toward her, Hitomi raised her hand to take the sleek silver sword. As she went to grab the handle, it moved sharply and Hitomi sliced the side of her body with the blade instead. Blood began to seep steadily from her wound on to the ground. Pain and sorrow washed over her, though none as anguishing as the one resonating from her back. It was growing, consuming her, and tearing out of her skin. Hitomi collapsed over in pain and screamed in horror . . . 


	2. Trust

***Yay my first review ever...ta. Anyhoo (glowing with pride) I've reposted this chap with minor adjustments. Enjoy and review, review, review. Byzzers.  
  
`````````````Chapter 2: Trust````````````  
  
Hitomi cried out and sat up stiffly in a hospital-white room. She brought her hand to her face in terror. She hadn't had a vision in five and a half years and even then nowhere near that intense and she had never interacted with it before. She gazed at her surroundings trying to figure out where she was, when a nurse came in and gasped in surprise to find Hitomi awake.  
  
Hitomi was swarmed with question as the doctors circled her. How are you? Does your head hurt? What are you eating habits? Has this ever happened before? Hitomi felt fine and answered all the questions but all she wanted to do was go home, now that she knew where home was. It had been decided for her. She needed to think about how to get back to Gaea. She knew something was wrong, and didn't want to just sit there knowing something was going to happen to Van. However, the mysterious voice and the things Merle had said confused her, 'they are in you' Hitomi flopped back on the pillows and growled to the empty room, "What is in me?!"   
  
It had been hours since her vision but it was perfectly sketched in her mind. The pain, the blood. The sight of his body, lifeless; it was tormenting her. Hitomi finally got fed up. She lifted herself up off the bed. Still dizzy from giving all that blood for the doctors to find out what happened, though she already knew, Hitomi paused for a moment on the edge of her bed. After gathering her thoughts, she carefully took out the IV needles from the back of her hand and changed into her clothes since she wouldn't get out of here in a hospital gown. She picked up some extra bandage to change the dressing on her head later. She was told when she fell, she whacked her head off the pavement and gashed her forehead.  
  
'I hope no one notices the bright white bandage on my head, I don't want to be asked anymore questions...' Surprisingly, Hitomi was able to walk right out of the hospital with no more than a suspicious look from the night nurse. The only thing she wanted to do was go home. The streets of her hometown were unusually quiet for this time of night, though Hitomi didn't have her watch on so she didn't know what time of night it was. Until, that is, she pasted by a small clock shop on Ijoji Ave. on her way home. Ten thirty p.m. That would explain the lack of people. (Most of her town's inhabitants had small children with an eight o'clock curfew).  
  
" Hitomi!" someone yelled from behind her, 'Hitomi, wait up," the voice called, getting closer. Hitomi spun around to find Yukari and Amano running to catch up with her.  
  
"Hitomi why did you leave the hospital? You were unconscious from four days. You could get seriously hurt," Amano stated as he tried to catch his breath.  
  
" Amano? First of all, there was nothing the hospital could have done to prevent it and secondly, what do you mean "four days"? Lastly, what are you doing back in Japan? I though you were still studying in England?" Hitomi asked him.  
  
" I finished school and came back early. I was going to surprise you when I heard you were in the hospital. What happened that who put you out for four whole days?"  
  
"It was one of my visions . . . I'd rather not talk about it," Hitomi stuttered.  
  
" Alright, fine then, " Yukari said knowing if she didn't want to talk, there was no point in forcing her to. Yukari smiled as both she and Amano wrapped an arm over Hitomi's shoulder," Come on, we'll walk you home."  
  
As the three friends walked through the silent streets, Hitomi noticed some thing was troubling Yukari. Every so often Yukari would turn and look at Amano, look at her, then give a nervous smile and look back down at the ground. The regret over something was pouring from her. It made Hitomi very uneasy, " Yukari, is there something wrong? The look on your face is bugging me."  
  
Yukari heaved a sigh, stopped, and looked directly at Hitomi, " Hitomi, I'm so sorry. But . . . I um . . . kind of told Amano about Gaea . . . and Van," she blurted out and then jumped behind Amano for protection.  
  
"YUKARI!! I thought I could TRUST YOU! You, my best friend, promised never to tell anyone! Ever! Look how wrong I was to trust you! I can't believe you told him," Hitomi screamed shifting her gaze from Yukari to Amano and back again, as the angered tears began to well up in her eyes. " It seems I CAN'T ever trust anyone HERE anymore!!"  
  
She turned from her so-called 'friends' and sprinted home as fast as she could. She walked in and saw her family was not home and right now, that was a relief.  
  
She had finally made the decision and set her mind to it. Grabbing her duffel bag from the hallway and quickly moved toward her room. She began to stuff some clothes, a few mementos, and some things she felt that she couldn't leave, before kneeling down at her window.  
  
She open the compartment and lifted the box out, Opening it, Hitomi again cautiously picked up the feather. Hitomi twirled it slowly in her fingers. ' I never really wanted to leave you Van. I just hope you know that' she thought to herself. She again experienced the weird shiver across her shoulders, but brushed the feeling off. She put the feather down on top of the pile and closed the lid, before stuffing the box into her duffle.  
  
She then moved to her desk, picked up a piece of paper to write a short note to her parents. Hitomi began going through her desk drawers looking for a pencil when she froze. Lying at the bottom of one of the drawers was the copy of the travel journals. When she had returned from Gaea, Hitomi had chronicled nearly every event she went through, thinking this was the way to tell people about what happened with out saying it. In truth, she placed the original in the lock box and complete forgot about the copy. Hitomi found a pencil and began to write the note:   
  
  
  
  
  
Dear Mom and Dad,  
  
Don't bother trying to find me. You   
  
won't. There's no one on Earth that  
  
I can trust anymore. I don't belong  
  
here anymore. I will always love you.  
  
Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.   
  
Attached to this is something   
  
that will explain why I left and   
  
where I'm going. Mom, you always   
  
said 'follow your heart', so I'm   
  
taking your advice. I will never forget   
  
you... Goodbye.  
  
All my love for you  
  
Hitomi  
  
Hitomi picked up the note, the chronicle, and her bag and rushed down the stairs to the kitchen, she stuffed as much food as she could into her bag before leaving the note and walking out the door for the last time. Standing stiffly on the sidewalk Hitomi turned around once more to look at her home and remember her life. Pushing those memories behind her Hitomi began to walk away.  
  
" There's only one place I belong, only one person I can trust," she thought to herself, " I just hope this works."  
  
Hitomi strode swiftly across her high school racetrack with her bag slung over her shoulder. Stopping on the spot where she had first seen him, Hitomi knelt down. Looking at her watch, she spoke out loud, "Six years in five minutes. Almost seems, huh, destined."  
  
Trying to concentrate on the image in her mind, Hitomi was interrupted by footsteps coming up behind her. She turned around to find Yukari and Amano closing in on her fast and each of them had a bag in their hand. " Hitomi, please believe me. I didn't mean to tell but I knew Amano would understand and he won't tell anyone!" Yukari stated, trying to placate her best friend.  
  
"Funny. That's what you said Yukari. I should never have told you," Hitomi said shaking her head," How did you know I would be here anyway? And why do you both have bags with you?" Hitomi asked curiously.  
  
"Well, we went to your house, your mom showed us the note, and we knew what it meant. I knew you would be here 'cause you always come here to run when you want to be alone. Neither of us wanted to let you go off on your own again. So we're going with you no matter what!" Amano informed her kneeling beside her.  
  
Shaking her head no, Hitomi told them," If this works . . . even then you can't come with me."  
  
"Why not? Yukari asked blatantly  
  
" I AM GOING back to Gaea, not 'we' as in plural, 'I' as in singular, understand?!"  
  
" Hitomi we don't care whether you're going to Gaea or the moon, we are going with you. Some how," Yukari said.  
  
" If you come with me, I don't know if you can come home, I know I'm not going to," Hitomi told them, hoping to change their minds.   
  
It didn't work. " Fine, I don't care what you do right now but I have or had a link with Gaea, after what's happened in the last few days I feel I am something more than I seem. You two don't have anything to do with Gaea."  
  
" Yes we do." Amano told her looked into her eyes," We have you. You are our connection."  
  
" Ok then. Now that that's done," Yukari said sitting down in front of Hitomi and Amano," What do we have to do?"  
  
" My grandma always used to tell me of wishing power. If you think, I wish I was... or I want to be.... Things happen. If I'm right, I . . . we have to picture Gaea in our minds and wish ourselves to it. But since you both have never seen it just concentrate on me and whatever you do... do not break the concentration," Hitomi instructed them praying that this would work.  
  
All three sat in a small circle with their bags on their shoulders. Yukari and Amano pictured Hitomi in their heads, while Hitomi focussed on one thing, actually one person. She pictured him, his face, his regal position, and his jet-black hair.   
  
Smiling, Hitomi could see him expose his angelic white wings and it felt like he was looking directly at her. Staring at him, Hitomi became engulfed in the pains from her vision. These were worse than the one's in her vision, these were real. Collapsing over her bag, she began to cry out in pain yet not once did she lose Van's face in her mind. She could see his concerned look and his failed attempt to come toward her.  
  
New images were filling her mind, armies covered in blood charging each other, animals, a bird wrapped in flame, a white wolf with wings, and a black dragon flying through the sky, and then her grandmother....'Why are you here Grandma?' thought Hitomi. As she watched her, wings sprouted elegantly from her back. 'Wings? But how?' Her Grandmother spoke softly to her, " Hitomi, you are right... You are more than you think. Trust yourself and if you hold on to the love you have, then even on the brink of failure you will survive. I will try to guide you through this. We will meet soon." With one last smile, disappeared and Hitomi could only feel pain.  
  
Both Yukari and Amano knew what was happening but Hitomi told them not to break the concentration. Instead, they both simultaneously stretched out their hands, one to Hitomi, and one to each other.   
  
They locked their hands together, and the pillar of light shot down from the sky and surrounded them. As panic set in Amano and Yukari opened their eyes and stared at Hitomi in horror. She was squeezing their hand and looking up at the source of the light. They could see her mouth moving like she was talking but they couldn't hear her at all. Slowly Hitomi straightened her head and looked at them. Yukari cried out as she saw her eyes. They had turned completely blue. She looked like she was possessed. Yukari wanted to yell out to her but she was too afraid. As they stared at her, she closed her eyes slowly and all three began to lift off the ground. Yukari screamed and all Amano could do was watch in disbelief as they moved away from the Earth. About three hundred feet up, as if drugged, they all simply passed out. With her last burst of energy, Hitomi found the strength to say one thing, " Van."  
  
`````````````````````````````````````  
  
The Fanelian king sat straight up in his bedchamber after another dream. He had not been sleeping well for the past two months, so many terrible thoughts troubling his dreams but this dream was almost real. So real it scared him. The connection between himself and the woman who held his heart had been severed and he couldn't help thinking of the reasons.  
  
She forgot about him. She had found a new love on the Mystic Moon. She was hurt or the worst; she was dead. Going over his dream he realized something wasn't right, things were too real... Running his hand through his thick head of ebony black hair, Van went over his latest nightmare.   
  
He was standing on the same track he was transported to those long years ago, with Hitomi in front of him. She was sitting with two others in a rough triangle. She wasn't looking right at him, but she was smiling, as if happily concentrating on something. He just stood there for about seemed like forever when uncontrollably, he exposed his wings behind him.   
  
Watching her, he saw the smile suddenly disappear from her face and she collapsed over her bag. As she cried out in agony, Van wanted to run to her aid but couldn't move at all. The trio were bathed in a pillar light as they were slowly lifted off the ground. All of them cried out and the last thing Van heard was Hitomi whispering his name as if she were talking into his ear...  
  
His thoughts were broken as a strange pink glow filled his room. Searching for the source, he found that it was coming from him, or rather the pendant around his neck. Once it had registered in his mind, Van knew that the pendant glowing could only mean one thing.   
  
Van leapt out of bed and threw on some clothes. Grabbing his sword, he ran as fast as his feet could carry him down to the stable rooms. He drew many weird looks from the night guards but he did not particularly care at the moment.   
  
  
  
Saddling his horse, Van tried to think of some thing to say to Hitomi when he saw her but his mind was completely blank. All he could think about was that she had come back to him, and he had to get to her. He had to get to her right now.  
  
Dawn was creeping over the treetops as Van rode. It wasn't until he kicked his horse faster for the fifth time that Van asked himself," Why am I riding a horse? I could have just carried her... Oh well."   
  
His horse was being pushed to the limit as Van thundered down the dirt path to where his dousing had led him. His sword bobbing at his side as Van slowed to a trot at the clearing's edge.   
  
Van caught his breath in slight surprise as he saw . . . them? There were three not one just like the dream, realizing then that it must have been real. "I'm glad I brought the horse now," he muttered to himself.  
  
As long as Hitomi was really there, it didn't matter how many there were. 'I have to tell her, she can't leave me, not this time,' he thought leaping down to the grass and sprinting over to the Earthling travellers. Two of them sat up as Van strode toward them. "Who are you?" asked the girl at his feet while she clung to the young man.  
  
'I remember these two from when went to the Mystic Moon...I wonder why I can understand them this time...' Van thought as he came to a halt, " I am Van Fanel. King of Fanelia, but you can call me Van. Who may you be?"  
  
" Van? Did... did you say Van?" The young woman stuttered with a grin spread across her face, " Oh my god!! It worked. Oh... I'm Yukari and this is Amano," Yukari answered motioning to Amano, not cluing in on the fact she was communicating in a different language.  
  
Van looked at them for a moment, nodded in acknowledgement, and glanced over at the other person than lay on the lush grass. He nearly fell over as he surveyed the face of his love. Rushing to her side, Van knelt down and brushed her cheek lightly with his bare hand. Hitomi let out a contented sigh at his touch. Van lifted her into his arms and kissed her head, letting a single tear roll down his face and falling to hers. As it touched her relaxed features, Hitomi woke up slowly. She opened her emerald green eyes to her embracer. " Van..." Hitomi whispered in shock. She threw her arms around his neck and poured her aching soul into her joyful sobs while she clung to him, never wanting to leave his embrace.  
  
Time slowly passed by before they reluctantly pulled back to look each other over. "Van... I thought I would never see you again. When I couldn't feel you anymore, so many terrible things went through my mind," 'Wow, he has grown up!' thought to herself after giving him the once over.  
  
His hand found its way to stroke her cheek. " I know what you mean. I went through the same thing. Somehow, deep down I knew none of them were true. I cannot believe you came back to m... uh... Gaea. But um... why are they here?" said Van glancing over at Yukari and Amano.  
  
" If it wasn't for them I would have never been able to come back. And Yukari and Amano were both there the first time we met and you killed the dragon, remember? Yukari kept me going after I left yo...uh Gaea."  
  
"Then I owe you a great deal, both of you. You brought her back. Ask me for anything and I'll try to give it to you. But for right now let's get back to the city...uh," Van stuttered think about so many things at once. A small grin graced his face as he decided how to get back to the Fanelian capital.  
  
Getting up, he led Yukari and Amano to his ride; " You two can take my horse back to Fanelia," he stated leading them to the animal and attaching the three bags to the saddle. "If you follow that path," he said, pointing eastward, as they mounted, " you'll come to a small hut outside a stone wall. It is one of the boarder control huts. The man that lives there will take you to the castle if you ask. Should anyone give you trouble, tell them you're peace ambassadors wishing to see me."  
  
Moving back to the woman who held his soul together, Van pulled Hitomi close and wrapped her in his arms when the two were out of sight, pulling back for a moment to look her over again. 'Still the perfect runner, hey she grew her hair.' Van thought. It was then that he noticed the bandage around her head, and how frail and ill she looked. " Hitomi, how have you been? You seem like you've been through a lot?" he asked with a concerned look, indicating the bandage.  
  
" That is from a vision... Everything else is from being really ill, feeling like I was fading away, since our link disappeared. Do you know why it happened?" Hitomi inquired, never letting the smile fade from her face.  
  
" No, but now that you're here it doesn't matter," he stated simple as a pushy thought entered his mind 'Come on, Van. You can tell her... just say it! It is not that hard.'  
  
Hitomi smiled at the thought of staying here and was about to finally tell him... but the smile soon vanished as the pain from her visions engulfed her. The throbbing in her head, and the thing trying to burst from her back.  
  
In her mind, Hitomi could see herself being pushed off the cliff that was in her first vision, by men in uniforms. They then stood around Van, with their swords ready to kill him, but they turned around, saw something, yelled in surprise, and charged at it....  
  
Then the pain stopped and Hitomi was back with a very concerned Van in the field. She stared at him wondering if he was going to die.  
  
Van never had the chance to ask her what happened, because as she stared at him, a group of three uniformed men jumped up from the tall grass and ran screaming at them.  
  
Van was preparing to draw his sword and fight but realized to late the deception. As the screaming drew their attention, someone had crept behind them both and struck the back of their heads with the hilt of his sword. All they could do was succumb to the darkness. 


	3. Fall to Rise Again

A/N: I am so so so sorry it has taken me so incredibly long to update and post, but getting ready to apply to university and keep up a 90% average is hard don't you know! And why have I only had one review!!! Wah!!! (thanks to pheonixelemental for that) Reviews help me write...please R&R....*wipes tear* anyhoo, with out further wait Ch.3  
  
Standard disclaimers... I know I don't any aspect of Esca and the quote in the conversation between Hitomi and her Gran is from ST: The Wrath of Khan... just in case of (c) probs;)  
  
`````````````Chapter 3: Fall to Rise Again ```````````````  
  
When Hitomi woke up, she was not surprised to see her hands tied in front of her. Van lay off to the side, still unconscious. Hitomi blinked her eyes trying to adjust to the pre sunrise light and saw that she lay on the cliff clearing from her first vision with the tree line to her right. She attempted to get to her knees and look around but instead was pushed back down by a boot and kick over onto her back.  
  
"So you're the whore from the Mystic Moon. Just as bizarre as they said you were..." a man, clearly no more than twenty sneered at Hitomi.  
  
She carefully observed the man speaking and his companions. There were a relatively small group of young men, the oldest seemed to her only to be in his late twenties if that. Counting five, Hitomi glanced over their appearances and the uniforms they wore plucked a faint memory from her mind. Zaibach! The Dragonslayers! They had Zaibach uniforms on, like the ones required of Dilandau's Dragonslayers but with green trimming and a black base instead of blue trim.   
  
The man that spoke hauled her to her feet. He was almost six feet tall, and very lean. He stepped back from her, and slowly looked her over. His face was bony and white. It looked like he had not had a proper meal in sometime. Her observations were broken as he began to criticize her again, " No I was wrong; you are more disgusting than bizarre. What do you think Ja-kal?"   
  
" I agree completely, Lord Gabdi. Utterly disgusting... but both myself and Marda, have a question, sir..." The scarred and wiry man to his right said.  
  
"Well, what ever could you and your brother want?" Gabdi asked with a grin plaster on his white face.  
  
" We want to know who gets to kill her." Marda said blatantly, his deep and booming voice causing Hitomi to cringe slightly.  
  
Hitomi remained surprisingly restrained as they continued acting if she was too stupid to understand them, yet she grew increasingly angry at this dialogue. "What do you want from us? We have done nothing to you," Hitomi insisted to them.  
  
"Oh really? I suppose this is all just one big mistake, isn't that right," Gabdi chuckled in contempt, "Well, I guess we will just have to let you go, eh, witch?" their leader said as he moved closer to her.  
  
"I am no witch." Hitomi told him and with that spat in his face. She was rather amazed at herself for doing that while her life was in his hands. Hers and the life of Van.  
  
"I will enjoy making you pay for that, you bitch!" Lord Gabdi sneered at her before rushing toward Hitomi.  
  
Using the back of his hand, Gabdi sent Hitomi crashing to the ground. Her cheek became red instantly from the action. 'It won't be long before a bruise happens...' Hitomi though while she tried to raise herself from the ground.  
  
Gabdi moved forward swiftly, grabbed her by the neck, and squeezed. As her eyes began to roll back in her head with the lack of oxygen, the commander backhanded Hitomi in the other direction, with his hand connecting to the side of her forehead.  
  
Her mind was in a flurry trying to think of ways out of the situation through the stinging pain in her head and the cuts from the stony clearing on her body. Painfully opening her eyes, Hitomi quickly glanced around the clearing for the man she loved, and looking passed her captor's legs, she saw that Van had begun to regain consciousness. She hoped he would not do anything characteristically rash if he heard what they were doing or saw what they had already done.   
  
The man that had slapped her, Lord Gabdi, noticed Hitomi glance behind him and turn around. " Ah, the royal whelp awakes," he announced striding up to Van, "oh I do hope your head hurts. The more pain you have the happier it is for me. Justice is such a sweet word to hear."  
  
Van pulled himself up to his knees and glared up at their captor. He spat at his feet and growled. "You had better release us if you know what's good for you."  
  
*WHAM* the force of the foot's impact to his face flung Van onto his back and cause him to spit blood. "I hardly think you're in the position to be threatening me, weakling..." Gabdi warned the injured king.  
  
Van groaned slightly and turned to look toward where Hitomi lay on the ground. He immediately saw the emerging bruises on her face and could not have stopped his anger if he wanted to. They had hurt 'his' Hitomi, and they must be hurt back.   
  
Van lunged forward at Gabdi and rammed into his chest, knocking him down to the ground quite hard, before realizing he had no free hands to beat this man with. He was dragged off the cursing General by three of Lord Gabdi's accompanying men, held, and beaten severely for his actions. The men, however hunger and weak they may have been took out all their frustrations on the helpless king. Fists and knees were connecting to ever part of Van's body as blood from his injuries dripped from his bruising face steadily.  
  
In horror, Hitomi pushed herself to her knees and begged the men to stop the pain. Ignoring her, they continued the beating, until Van could hardly hold himself up. The men let go and Van dropped to the ground in exhaustion.   
  
Hitomi was allowed to get within a foot of Van before being hauled to her feet and restrained. The tears were brimming at her eyes when she began to feel her mind becoming hazy in announcement of a vision. ' No, not now please. Not a vision now,' the silently weeping woman said to herself.  
  
Lord Gabdi strode between Hitomi and Van and cleared his throat. "Ahem, now to move right along and get to point of this venture."  
  
He motioned to the man behind Hitomi, she was pulled in front of the cliff edge, and the ropes that had held her hands were cut. Hitomi knew that something big and most likely bad was just about to happen. ' I could try to get to Van... No, I would never make it and then, uh...ooo, we'd, uh, we would both die.' Hitomi forced herself to pull on every ounce of strength she had to stay standing, for she could feel that her mind was slowly beginning to haze and slip into a vision, and she knew she needed to stay wake and as alert as possible.  
  
"Marda, bring the boy over here to watch," the lord said to a stout soldier behind him before turning toward Marda's wiry brother, " and Ja-kal because you asked you get to do it."  
  
Van was held in place and could only stare at Hitomi in confusion and fear, not knowing what was to happen but guessing at the worst. He vainly attempted to get out of the hold Marda had on him, only to be held tighter, surprising considering the size of this soldier that restrained him. Hitomi began to sway on her feet as the pasty face commander stepped up to her with Ja-kal in tow.   
  
" Hitomi Kanzaki, " he announced louder than needed, ", damned witch of the Mystic Moon, are hereby accused of the murder of our supreme leader, Emperor Dornkirk, the down fall of the glorious Zaibach Empire and the attempted genocide of its citizens; it is our duty as the survivors of your treachery that are present here at this time to carry out the sentencing..."  
  
He paused in his speech and turned to look at Van and his bloodied face. He gave a malicious smirk and raised his arm. Ja-kal came with in less than an arms length of Hitomi and looked toward his leader.   
  
Gabdi resumed his 'trial'. "You are therefore sentenced to death!" With that last word dropped his arm and Ja-kal pushed Hitomi back off the cliff's edge just as she foreseen it in the field. The last thing Hitomi heard before being taken over by this new vision was Van's anguished cry of her name.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
She could feel herself floating in air, if indeed it was air, for she could not see anything around her. The white light blinded Hitomi's eyes and prompted her to ask, " Am I dead?" to the surrounding illumination.  
  
"Oh, my dear child. You are far from dead," a gentle and yet well-known voice spoke out from the light. "Why, you are just beginning a new life."  
  
Hitomi opened her eyes to wear the voice came from and gasped. Before her stood an elderly woman with a face not unlike her own. Her brown hair was braided in two pigtails the framed her face and hung over her shoulders. The woman wore a dark blue kimono that was covered in a pattern of pink pinwheels. "Grandma? What happened? If I'm not dead why can I see you and..." Hitomi paused to reach out to the being she called Grandmother, "feel you?"  
  
"We have brought you here and slowed time in the real world to show you," her Gran explained. Her eyes seemed to soften with sadness as she spoke next. "You don't know how much I wish this had passed you over, Hitomi."  
  
"What, wished what had passed? ..."  
  
"But all the signs are present, isn't that right?" Gran asked looking to her side as a woman materialized from the light.  
  
This woman looked in her early forties and looked very familiar. The lady had the stance of royalty, yet her eyes were soft and kind. She had long jet-black hair that flowed down her back past her waist. Her clothing appeared to be Gaean. However, the most noticeable feature of this woman was the pair of majestic wings that extended from her shoulders and were folded gracefully upon her back. "I know you, don't I?" Hitomi said to the woman.  
  
Her voice rang out in reply. "You have not met me directly, but you have seen me a few instances, years ago. The first was in a memory. From this." She pulled her hand up from her side and in it laid a feather. A simple white feather.  
  
"What?" Hitomi exclaimed in confusion shaking her head, " A memory from a feath... You are Van's mother, aren't you?... but I still don't understand... "  
  
The Fanelian royal smiled kindly and nodded her head. "The prophecy chose you before you were born. In fact it chose you before Atlantis was destroyed, and destiny has, since then, been directing the course of two worlds so that you would become who you are, and that the people to aid you in your journey were born. I was destined to meet my Gaou, Van's father, and have two sons. No more and no less. Your Grandmother was destined go to Gaea and meet Allen's father, Leon, and get the pendant that reawakened both your heritages and then..."  
  
"Wait! Are you saying that I own Allen's father for all of this, everything that has happened to me?  
  
"Yes, I suppose we are in a sense. As we have said, all that has happened, in the last few weeks back to the day the prophecy was passed, happened because it would direct life to your creation and the creation of those to help you. Even the near disaster with Allen on the bridge had a purpose in your life."   
  
"How could that have any real reason?" Hitomi countered, recalling the event with a blush, "That whole thing was a Zaibach plot to get my feelings out of the way, wasn't it?"   
  
Varie chuckled at Hitomi's confusion. "Well, it did show you the young man that had already embraced your soul, did it not? Van and you are kindred spirits, Hitomi. Your souls are forever intertwined."  
  
Hitomi paused to consider what Varie had told her. A wistful smile crept onto her face as she though of Van and herself...   
  
Varie continued speaking to Hitomi, drawing her back to the moment, "You, Van, and his brother are the last of your kind, " her eyes softened as she finished quietly," And there is pain in your futures."  
  
Not noticing the last remark, Hitomi continued, "You speak of Folken as if he's alive. I would have thought you would know he is not. I was there when he died and when Van buried him in Fanelia. Folken is dead."  
  
The Draconian royal drew herself up and proclaimed proudly, "Folken is the phoenix. What you saw in both your earlier visions were real. As the bird in flame does, Folken will be reborn through fire, reborn to his true form. It is not the first time death has failed to claim my elder son. The animals you saw in your vision were the form of your spirits. Van has long been called the dragon since his birth and for good reason. And you are loyal, noble, and fiercely courageous just like the white wolf. There is more you share with Van than this... but I think it best that another explains this to you."  
  
"What do you mean 'Folken is the phoenix'?" she asked, recalling her mythology classes," Do you mean the mythical bird? The one that is reborn through fire and ash and is immortal? That phoenix?" Hitomi asked in disbelief.  
  
"Yes, we do, but your journey will guide you in that direction in due time. For now there are two people that have waited millennia to meet you Hitomi..." Varie and Hitomi's Grandma moved off the right side as two beings materialized out of the light.   
  
Before her stood a young man and a woman. They were covered in flowing robes of what looked like silk with almost mythical patterns adorning them. They both had long blonde hair that framed their soft, smiling faces and flowed down their backs. Hitomi scanned over the two new people and locked eyes with the woman. Her eyes were the deepest shade of blue and looked as if they had been through the test of time and seen the ages go past them.   
  
When Hitomi had broken the gaze, the two had spread behind them pairs of wings the purest form of white imaginable. All she could do was stare in awe.  
  
"It is our honour to finally meet you dear daughter of Atlantis. The ages have guided time into your birth. You are prophesied, and we are happy for it," the young man announced to her.  
  
"Wh...what... did you say?" was all Hitomi could utter.  
  
Her Gran stepped forward and began to talk slowly to her," Now Hitomi, I want you to take a deep breath and relax... You have always known that you were different and you are. But in more ways than you know. Yes, you were born on Earth, but you are not entirely human... Are you following me so far?" she asked as Hitomi nodded in response, " Okay. These are our ancestors, the first of our family; and even though it has been thousands of years and countless bloodlines have gone by, Atlantean blood does not fade. Your abilities come from that blood, those ones and more, and it is because I travelled to Gaea that those traits manifested in you entirely. The light reawakened the dormant genes in me, and when you were taken by the light as well, you blood revealed what you really are."  
  
"More? What is the 'more'?" inquired Hitomi.  
  
Her grandmother smiles slightly and nodded at Hitomi. She stepped back and taking a deep breath, two elegant white wings sliced through the back of her kimono and extended themselves fully.  
  
Hitomi stumbled back and began to hyperventilate at this sudden rush of information. " I need... need to... sit down right now," she said to no one in particular as her body went down to the ground behind her.  
  
"Okay... ooooo-kay...Well, this is a lot to absorb but going on...wings... You um... wow, she has wings... uh, you spoke about a pro... prophecy, and I suppose that it is not a good one right?" Hitomi asked attempting to process as much information as her brain would allow.  
  
The female Atlantean spoke softly to her, " We cannot tell you all that we know. But..." with a quick glance at her partner," Do you remember the gate to Atlantis in the Mystic Valley, Hitomi?" continuing once her descendant nodded toward her in reply," That gate fed off a monstrous power and an evil power. It was never supposed to be used. When Van assumed his role as the "bearer of the karma of war", and the gate was destroyed, the being that we, your ancestors, had sealed in it was release into Gaea. It has a massive power, child. Only the power of three shall be able to quell it."  
  
Hitomi took a deep breath begins her recap, "So from what you're saying... Van the draconian king of Fanelia; Folken, when he is brought back to life; and me, the last Atlantean alive... all with some sort of mystical animal spirits inside us... are the only three that have any chance of stopping this thing?" she asked glancing around the group, "Right then. Um, w...wha... uh, what else can you tell me about this, this 'evil'?"  
  
The Atlantean lady continued with her explanation, " The being has been reborn into Gaea and to our dismay we do not know what form it will take. It could become anything and be anywhere."  
  
The gentleman stepped forward to finish her companions explanation," The task of surviving the gate's destruction drew most of the beings energy and it must therefore regenerate itself. However, it is not know how long that will take. It has never happened before. The process could have taken weeks or it could take years, we just do not know. We do know it is coming, and that when the creature has regained it's power you will know it. For survival, you and those who will aid you in your journey must prepare yourselves. When the regeneration is complete, it is not a sure thing that the power of the three will be able to defeat it. But we hope and that is a powerful thing."  
  
The four apparitions before Hitomi paused and glanced into the light behind them. It was as if there was a silent voice calling out to their attention. They slowly tuned their heads back to Hitomi's direction and her Grandmother stepped forward to embrace her tightly.  
  
"Hitomi, time is growing short and we cannot stay here any longer...we must send you back," she continued on despite Hitomi's dismayed face, " Yes, yes I know you don't want to but, remember 'The needs of the many, outweigh the need of the few or the one.' There will be times in your future where things look bleak, like there is no hope or salvation. Hitomi at those times I want you to trust in your heart... "  
  
"And the love that you share with Van, "Queen Varie interrupted.  
  
"But there is still so much I don't understand about all this!" Hitomi called out.  
  
The Fanelian lady came and drew Hitomi into her arms softly, " Do not worry child, the mysteries will unravel themselves in time. You cannot rush them."  
  
Now, Hitomi, I told you that we had slowed time to bring you here... Do you remember where you were before the vision took you, what had happened to you?" the elder Kanzaki questioned.  
  
Her green eyes grew wide with shock as she realized her physical position on Gaea, the fact that she had just been pushed off a cliff of all places. Her grandmother went on, "Yes, you were falling, now you are still falling, even now, but your body will know what to do. You are Atlantean after all. Ok, have we covered everything?" the old woman inquired of her three companions," Yes? Good. Fly Hitomi, save him... It's destiny."  
  
"But, Grandma, I don...uh..." was the last thing Hitomi could utter before the light took her once again, back to the cliff side. 


End file.
